QAṢR-I-SHÎRÎN
The general disposition of the Sasanian ruins at Qaṣr-i-Shîrîn has been
given by M. de Morgan, and the plan of the two principal buildings, the
palace of Khusrau and the palace (if palace it were) of Chehâr Qapû,
both of which I examined, appear in the same volume.[45] It is quite
possible that the ruins may have suffered to a certain extent during the
years which elapsed between M. de Morgan’s visit and my own, and this
may account for the omission in my plans of some features which are
shown by him. Nowhere did I observe stucco decorations in so good a
state of preservation as that which is depicted in his Figure 208. I
have, however, compared my photographs with those published by him and
found no very noticeable differences. Moreover, it will be observed that
such details as are absent from my plans are usually indicated
hypothetically on those of the French mission, and it is therefore
doubtful how much of them was actually seen and how much was
conjectural. A very little excavation would determine whether these
conjectures are correct. It is much to be regretted that I had not the
French plans with me, as I might have been able to form some more
definite opinion as to the value of the proposed restorations. As it is
I must content myself with recording that which I saw above ground.
THE PALACE OF KHUSRAU
The larger edifice, which is known as the palace of Khusrau (i.e.
Chosroës II, Parwêz, A.D. 590-628), is not built upon a single level.
The central part is raised above the plain by means of a solid platform
of earth some 3 metres high. The terribly ruined state of the buildings
made it difficult to take elevation measurements which should approach
to accuracy; I have therefore endeavoured to give a correct impression
of the structures upon the two levels by reproducing the plan in two
parts. In the one (Plate 53) the upper rooms and courts are given; the
uncovered areas on the upper level are lightly tinted, the covered rooms
are dotted, while the buildings on the lower level are shown only in
outline. In the other (Plate 54) the upper level is left in outline and
the covered and open areas of the lower level are fully indicated.
The palace is exactly oriented, the main rooms and entrance facing east.
The building materials are undressed stones laid in a thick bed of
gypsum mortar. The stones are used exactly in the shape in which they
were furnished by nature, a shape which happened to be that of large
rounded pebbles. With such materials accurately coursed masonry is not
to be expected. The core of the walls is no more than a mass of concrete
with stones bedded at haphazard in the strong gypsum mortar. On the
outer surface of the wall, particularly in important chambers, the
pebbles are, however, coursed with considerable care, but the face of
the walls is necessarily very rough and must always have been covered
with plaster. The vaults are constructed of the same unfavourable
materials. They were built over a centering on which was laid an inner
skin of stones and mortar; when this had hardened it was strong enough
to bear the mass of concrete which was built round and above it.
Construction of this kind would have been impossible but for the
excellent qualities of the mortar. I observed that the vaults both in
this palace and at Chehâr Qapû had almost invariably a slight outset
from the wall (Plate 52, Fig. 2), as is generally the case in Sasanian
vault building, whether in brick or in stone. The vaults are round or
slightly ovoid, except in the lower corridor, under the margin of the
platform (Plate 54, Corridor 103). Here the vaults are very markedly
pointed (Plate 51, Fig. 1), but I should attribute this form not to any
conscious predilection for the pointed arch--an arch which was, so far
as I am aware, unknown to Sasanian architects--but to an accident
inherent in the rude construction of an unimportant part of the
building. Occasionally brick was used. I saw fragments of brick among
the ruins of the palace of Khusrau, and in Chehâr Qapû some brick vaults
are still standing. The walls which were intended to support these
massive stone roofs were seldom less than 1·30 metres thick, and
sometimes considerably thicker. (In Chehâr Qapû, however, they are not
infrequently reduced to a thickness of little over a metre.)
The eastern end of the platform is devoid of constructions. It is
accessible by means of three double ramps which will be described in
dealing with the lower level of the palace. Excluding the width of the
ramps, the open platform is 149 metres long (reckoning it up to the east
wall of chambers 21, 22, and 23) and 98 metres wide. The main gateway of
the palace is much ruined. The hall or porch which is numbered 1 on the
plan is indicated by two grass-grown mounds, 26·60 metres long by about
5·40 metres broad, leaving a space of about 9·80 metres between. Another
mound lying north and south marks the eastern limit of No. 2. At either
end of this latitudinal chamber there were traces of cross walls, which
I have shown on the plan. Upon the eastern mound I saw through the grass
circular patches of brick which may have been the remains of columns.
Whether No. 1 was flanked on either side by columns, as M. de Morgan has
represented it to have been, I have no means of determining, but I have
little doubt that it was a covered porch of some kind leading to a
latitudinal chamber, No. 2, which was some 45 metres long (between the
cross-walls) by 17 metres wide, and that this chamber was a covered
antechamber to the hall of audience, No. 3. The hall (3) is 27·20 metres
square; the walls are ruined down to the level of the side door arches,
and the interior is filled with ruins to the depth of about 1
metre--judging by the present ground-level in the doorways (Plate 55,
Figs. 1 and 2). At each corner of the hall, 2·90 metres from the walls
on either side, there are the remains of a pier, 1·40 metres square,
with two engaged columns projecting about 1 metre and producing a
heart-shaped ground-plan. The pier at the south-west corner is tolerably
well preserved, and there can be no doubt as to its form. The eastern
wall of the hall is 4·35 metres thick and is broken by a single door 3
metres wide. At the south-east corner a small doorway leads into a short
passage, probably vaulted, which gives access to the open platform. On
the west side of the hall lies a lîwân (4) 5·10 × 13·15 metres. A door,
1·60 metres wide, opens into court A, but there is no direct
communication between the lîwân and its subsidiary chambers. Of these
last there are two on either side. To the north, room 5 opens by doors
into hall 3 and court A. No. 6 has only one door, opening into a narrow
passage (9) which was probably covered by a vault. On the south side No.
7 corresponds exactly with No. 5, while No. 8 opens into No. 7 and not
into the corridor 10. These corridors (9 and 10) lead respectively out
of the north-west and the south-west corners of hall 3; they are
prolonged beyond rooms 6 and 8 and open into court A. Parallel to them
run a second pair of corridors (11 and 12) which are two of the main
gangways of the palace. No. 11 is 1·80 metres wide. Its eastern end is,
so far as I could ascertain, a cul-de-sac, but it may possibly be
provided with a door into room 13 (the walls are very much ruined here).
A doorway, placed immediately west of the end of corridor 9, leads into
court A, and doors on the north side communicate with courts D and E.
Corridor 12 is 1·70 metres wide and leads out of hall 3; the arched
doorway into the hall is preserved. The only other doorway in this
corridor of which I could make certain is one communicating with court
I, but in both corridors (11 and 12) the walls are so much ruined that I
cannot feel sure that they do not possess more doors. Beyond courts F
and J both corridors drop down to the lower level and are then continued
to the western limit of court B, where they turn at right angles and
unite behind court B, but on the lower level. Whether the descent was
accomplished by steps or by a ramp I could not determine, but in No. 12
the vault at this point was well preserved, and I noticed that, as in
the stairs and ramps of Ukhaiḍir, it was built not in an inclined plane,
but in sections rising one above the other like inverted steps (Plate
56, Fig. 1). East of hall 3 and of the chambers pertaining to it, the
remainder of the central area of the palace is occupied by two courts, A
and B, 33·90 metres wide, divided from one another by a much ruined
cross wall in which there was presumably a door. Court A is 40 metres
long from the west wall of the lîwân (4) to the cross-wall; court B is
71·30 metres long from the cross wall to the end of the platform.
To north and south of the central area lie a series of courts with lîwân
groups, on the west side courts C and G alone offer slight variations of
scheme. In court C there is a lîwân group at either end, the western
group being the more important; as will be seen, this is the usual
arrangement in the courts on the lower level. There are, besides, three
chambers (13, 14, and 15), lying between court C and hall 3. These
chambers are almost completely buried under ruin heaps overgrown with
grass; I was able to see that No. 13 opened into No. 3 and into court C,
but I could not determine the position of the doors in Nos. 14 and 15.
Court C measures 21·60 metres from north to south and 19·20 metres from
east to west. The western lîwân is 5·20 by 7·25 metres. I would here
remark that in all cases the lîwâns open by their full width on to the
court, whereas in the French plan the entrance arch is narrowed by short
returns in the side walls. The side chambers (17 and 18) do not
communicate with the lîwân (a rule which is followed throughout the
palace), but have doors only into the court. A door in the west wall of
the lîwân (16) leads into a latitudinally placed chamber (19) measuring
5·10 by 14·30 metres, which is separated by a wall at the south end from
a small subsidiary chamber, 1·75 metres wide, with which it communicates
by a narrow door. There is also a doorway between No. 19 and court D.
This group of rooms (16 to 19) occurs unchanged in courts E, G, H and I,
and is provided invariably with a posterior court. In one case only,
court H, a shallow lîwân group is placed at the west end of the
posterior court. All the latitudinal chambers (19, 28, 32, and 42)
behind the lîwâns are completely ruined. I conjecture that they were
vaulted, but it is possible that they were not wholly covered, like the
corresponding chambers behind the lîwâns at Ukhaiḍir. On the analogy of
Ukhaiḍir they must have served the purpose of kitchens. I saw no trace
in court C of the columns which are placed there in the French plan. At
the east end there is a shallow lîwân group (21, 22, and 23), the lîwân
being 4 metres deep. To the north of this group lies a short passage
leading to a door which communicates with the open platform. A
corresponding passage (20), 2·30 metres wide, leads out of the
north-west corner of court C, runs along the north side of courts D, E,
and F, drops on to the lower level in the same manner as corridors 11
and 12, is continued as far west as they, and then turns off at right
angles and joins the cross-passage which connects them. North of court C
are two chambers on the upper level (106 and 24). No. 106 is a long
passage room with two rectangular arched niches in the south wall, a
door at the east end opening on to the platform, and a door at the west
end which gives access to a ramp that descends into the exterior park,
between the retaining wall to the south and the wall of a chamber on the
lower level to the north. In the north wall of No. 106 there is a door
leading into No. 24, a much ruined room about 7·50 metres square, and a
door further west opening on to the roof of a short passage.
Courts E and F stand in the same relation to one another as courts C and
D; court E is the forecourt of a lîwân group with a kitchen (25 to 28);
court F is the posterior court. The western wall of court F is the
retaining wall of the mound on which the rooms and courts of the upper
level are built. Court F, together with No. 28, are omitted in M. de
Morgan’s plan, a fact which shows that there must be serious errors in
his measurements.
Upon the southern side of the platform, court G is divided from the hall
3 by three chambers (33, 34, and 35) which, like the corresponding
chambers north of the hall, are ruined and filled with débris. They
appear to have had no communication with the hall. On the south side a
door leads from court G into corridor 43, 2·60 metres wide, which
corresponds with the northern corridor (20). The western end of court G
is occupied by a lîwân group and kitchen (29-32), the latter opening
into court H. Court H, 15 metres from east to west, differs, as has been
said, from its counterpart court D, in that it is furnished with a
shallow lîwân group at its western end. These rooms (36, 37 and 38) are
much ruined, but it appeared to me that there was no communication with
court I. Court I, 14·20 metres from east to west, and court J, 17·80
metres from east to west, with the lîwân group and kitchen between them,
correspond exactly in their arrangement with courts E and F. I do not
doubt that all the rooms above described were covered by barrel vaults,
but there is no wall on the upper level that stands much more than a
metre high, and therefore no vault is preserved.
In the central part of the palace the upper level is prolonged to the
western end of court B, but in the wings it ends with courts F and J.
Thus it is that the rooms and courts which flank the western end of
court B are upon the lower level. They form two complete units, one on
either side. The northern unit is composed of courts K and L and rooms
44 to 50. On the east side of court K lies a shallow lîwân group (48,
49, 50), the lîwân being 3·25 metres deep. On the west side the lîwân
group differs somewhat from those which have been already described. A
narrow antechamber, 2·40 metres deep, is interposed between the lîwân
with its side chambers (44, 45, 46) and the court. A wide archway,
corresponding with the arch of the lîwân, and two doors, corresponding
with the doors of the side chambers, open into court K, but the width of
the arch and doors of the antechamber is slightly greater than the width
of the arch and doors of the lîwân and its side chambers. The door of 46
is 1·05 metres wide and stands 1·85 metres from the south wall; the
corresponding door of the antechamber is 1·70 metres wide and stands
1·30 metres from the south wall. The arch of the lîwân has a width of
5·20 metres; the corresponding arch of the antechamber is 5·80 metres
wide. Neither here nor in any other court where the antechamber occurs
is it possible to determine the exact relation between the vault of the
antechamber and the vault of the lîwân, but the fact that the lîwân arch
seems to have been narrower than the antechamber arch (it is only in
court K that the measurements can be taken with anything approaching to
accuracy) leads me to suppose that the vault of the lîwân cannot have
been carried through to the court, as at Ukhaiḍir. In that case the
antechamber must have been roofed with a continuous vault laid at right
angles to, and possibly higher than, the vault of the lîwân. The
antechamber communicates with corridor 11. Courts M and N, on the south
side of court B, are the counterpart of courts K and L. The southern end
of the antechamber is exceptionally well preserved, and the arched
doorway leading into corridor 42 is standing (Plate 56, Fig. 2). Part of
the vault of corridor 42 can be seen in Plate 57, Fig. 1.
The cross-passage connecting corridors 20, 11 and 12 affords
communication with the western courts, which form three units, all
exactly alike, except for slight variations in width. Each unit consists
of a pair of courts and two groups of rooms. A shallow lîwân group lies
at the east end of each of the forecourts, O, Q, and S (Plate 57, Fig.
2). Doors from the passage are placed in the side chambers of the
lîwâns, and corresponding doors open into the courts. As far as I could
ascertain the courts communicated with one another, but the division
walls are ruined, often down to ground-level, and it is hard to decide
between a doorway and a breach. At the west end of the courts stands a
more important lîwân group with an antechamber (Plate 58, Figs. 1 and 2,
and Plate 59, Fig. 1). In no case is there a door in the back of the
lîwân, but communication with the posterior court is provided by means
of a narrow vaulted passage (59, 67 and 75) placed to the south of the
lîwân group.[46] There is no latitudinal chamber in the posterior
courts, but a small additional chamber (58, 66 and 74), possibly for
domestic purposes, lies on the northern side of each lîwân group. A
corridor (79) leading out of court N bounds these courts to the south,
and at right angles to it another corridor (80) bounds them to the west.
The outer wall of No. 80 is ruined to the foundations, and I could not
see whether there were doorways opening into the park. There were clear
traces of doors leading into this corridor from courts P and T. Parallel
to No. 79, but wholly separated from it, runs the continuation of
corridor 43, which, after passing round the south side of court N, turns
at right angles and opens at its western end into the park (Plate 59,
Fig. 2). To the south of these corridors lies a large court, U, with
remains of an arcade along its northern side. The space between the
arcade and the wall of corridor 43 was probably vaulted; at its southern
end it opens into the corridor. Court U is almost square (51 × 51·70
metres). To the west and south its walls are ruined, but on the west
side great heaps of stones furnish indications of a gate. On the
opposite side of the court there is another gateway of which a
considerable part is standing. It is situated at the west end of a
rectangular area, court V, arcaded on either side, which must have been
intended for a private pleasure-ground or a place for games (Plate 60,
Fig. 1). The latter is the more probable conjecture, since there is no
direct communication between court V and the palace. The gateway was an
important structure. From the western court (U) a porch 2·70 metres deep
opened through an archway 3·70 metres wide into a rectangular vaulted
chamber (83) 4·50 metres from east to west (Plate 60, Fig. 2). To the
east of 83 lay a chamber (82) almost square (5·90 × 5·80 metres) having
a rectangular vaulted niche, 1·50 metres deep, to north and south and an
archway to the east opening into court V. No. 82 must have been covered
by a dome, which was in all probability set over the angles on squinch
arches (see below, Plate 69), but no part of the dome is standing (Plate
61). On either side of the gateway there are four chambers accessible
only from court V. No. 85 opens into the passage, probably vaulted,
which was formed by the northern arcade; No. 89 opens on to the area
outside the southern arcade. It would be natural to expect that an outer
wall ran parallel to this arcade, dividing court V from the park, and I
looked for traces of such a wall, but did not find them. Court V (18·50
× 102·50 metres) terminates in a group of much-ruined buildings of which
I could only make out the general plan. The arcaded passage (92) ends in
a small vaulted and unlighted room (93) (6·55 × 3·55 metres). To the
south of 93 are two large chambers (94 and 95), No. 94 terminating at
the southern end in a deep niche. Nos. 93 and 94 are separated by a
narrow passage from a small rectangular court (W) having two chambers at
either end. Of these chambers Nos. 99 and 100 are completely ruined, but
the vaults of Nos. 97 and 98, which are built partly under the upper
platform, are standing (Plate 62). To the south lies another small court
(X) out of which the passage 101 leads into a small rectangular chamber
(102) which in turn communicates with the arcaded corridor 103. This
corridor runs round the eastern end of the platform which is carried
over it on a vault. The vault, which was very roughly constructed, is
noticeably pointed, especially on the east side (Plate 51, Fig. 1).
Three double ramps provided access to the platform, the eastern pair
being the largest and most important. The eastern ramps begin opposite
the fourth detached pier at either end of the arcade of the corridor,
where a mass of masonry 6·60 metres long by 4·90 wide blocks the
adjoining arch. Vaults carrying the ramp are placed before the seventh
and eighth arches from either end of the arcade, and in front of the
central arch lies a vaulted chamber 3·75 metres wide. The length of this
double ramp is 48 metres (Plate 63, Fig. 1). On the west side of the
corridor there are nine vaulted chambers, 5·80 metres deep, which are
tunnelled out under the platform. Their doorways correspond with the
arches of the corridor. A detached chamber lies at either end of the
corridor. The north and south ramps are constructed in the same fashion,
but they are only 30·80 metres long. Opposite the central vault there is
a chamber under the platform; on either side the platform is solid,
after which there are two vaulted chambers.
On the north side of the palace there is another group of much-ruined
buildings on the lower level. The arcaded corridor (103) ends at this
point in a narrow vaulted chamber (104) which lies under No. 106. Like
106, No. 104 has two arched niches in the south wall. It abuts at its
western end against the ramp which descends from No. 106. A narrow
passage leads out into a large enclosure, court Y, in which all the
walls are ruined. Plate 63, Fig. 2, shows the eastern end of No. 106
with its vault partially preserved, and the walls and substructures of
No. 24. In the south-west angle of court Y there was a large chamber
(105), and the north-west corner was occupied by two groups of three
rooms lying to north and south of the small court Z. Possibly there was
a somewhat similar arrangement of rooms on either side of court Z[1].
CHEHÂR QAPÛ
Like the palace of Khusrau, Chehâr Qapû faces east. It covers a
rectangular area 134 metres from east to west, and 82·60 metres from
north to south (Plate 64). The building materials are the same as those
used in the larger palace. The principal entrance is in the east end; I
saw nothing of the great portico which M. de Morgan places on the south
side, and as the outer wall at that point is entirely ruined, it is
impossible to say whether there were a door there or no. The eastern
gateway is much ruined (Plate 65, Fig. 1),[47] but the transverse arch
between chambers 1 and 2 is standing. To north and south lie a series of
courts and small chambers, occupying a width from east to west similar
to that of the gateway buildings and apparently appertaining in some way
to the entrance, since they do not communicate with the interior of the
palace. The eastern wall both of the gateway and of the outer courts has
fallen, so that the architectural scheme of the façade cannot be
determined. It is certain, however, that it was not symmetrical, for the
courts are not symmetrically disposed, nor is the north wing equal in
length to the south wing. To the south of the central gate lie two
courts, A and B, 10·10 metres from north to south, and 9·35 metres from
east to west. Court A is provided with a pair of small rectangular
chambers on either side; in court B there are two rooms upon the south
side only. There are slight variations in size between these chambers,
but they average about 4·10 metres square. They communicated with the
court, but not with one another. They have all been covered by conical
domes set over the angles on squinch arches. I give an example from No.
6 which will serve to illustrate the construction in every case (Plate
65, Fig. 3). Many of the rooms had a small niche in one wall (Plate 65,
Fig. 2), the ṭâqchah, which is to be seen in all Persian houses; it
appears again in numerous rooms in the body of the building. In No. 6
the niche is unusually large and, though it has broken through, the
plaster decorations on the archivolt are preserved (Plate 66, Fig. 1).
They consist of three fillets, and above the archivolt the small
oversailing band of plaster which marks the springing of the dome is
lifted so as to form a rectangular label. As can be seen from the
photographs, most of the plaster has fallen from the walls; where it
remains it is usually decorated with an insignificant striated motive
consisting of narrow vertical and horizontal bands of five lines each,
which look like the impress of some coarse matting on the wet plaster.
To the north of the central gate there are two rooms, 9 and 10,
communicating with one another. Further north lies a large court, _C_,
14·10 metres long, with two rooms at either end. Nos. 11 and 12 differ
from the usual arrangement. No. 11 measures 6·20 by 4·05 metres and has
a niche in the east wall. The north wall, which contained the door into
the court, has fallen. No. 12, 1·65 × 4·20 metres, opens into the court
by a narrow door in the north-west corner, part of the wall having been
cut away to allow space for it. Nos. 13 and 14 are domed rooms of the
customary type. In No. 14 the north-west squinch is particularly well
preserved, part of the plaster fillets over the archivolt being still in
place (Plate 66, Fig. 2).
The central gateway opens into court D, 31·50 × 13·30 metres. At the
western end of the south wall of this court there are faint traces of
plaster decoration, shallow arched niches separated by engaged
colonnettes. The court terminates in a second vaulted gateway (15),
which is so much ruined that the details of its structure cannot be made
out (Plate 67). On either side of this gate a low archway leads into the
vaulted passages 16 and 17. At the eastern end of court D a door gives
access to a chamber (18) 27 × 4·20 metres, which forms the east side of
court E and opens into that court by two wide doorways. To north and
south of court E lie chambers 19 and 20, 12·40 × 4·20 metres and 12·40 ×
4·20 metres, which open into the court by three arches carried on
masonry piers varying from 2·50 to 2·80 metres in length. On the west
side of the court, No. 21 corresponds with No. 18, but the greater part
of its walls have fallen. Court F is flanked to the south by No. 23,
11·50 × 4·20 metres, a closed chamber with a single door, and to the
north by No. 22, which is only 9·10 metres long in order to allow space
for a door leading into No. 24 (11·40 × 4·40 metres). The west side of
court F is partly occupied by the vaulted passage (16) and partly by No.
25, a room which no doubt communicated with the court by a door. A door
leads from it into No. 26, whence a pair of doorways give access to
court G. No. 27 lies to the north of court G and communicates with No.
28, to the north of court H. No. 28 in turn communicates with No. 29,
lying parallel with Nos. 30 and 31, two rooms that open out of the west
side of court H. Back to back with Nos. 29, 30, and 31 lie Nos. 32, 33,
and 34, with doorways opening west. The vaults of these six chambers are
well preserved. Plate 68, Fig. 1, shows the interior of No. 31 with an
arched ṭâqchah in the wall. The vault is ovoid and oversails the wall.
The courts in the south wing of the palace correspond neither in size
nor in disposition with those of the north wing. Opposite to the door of
No. 18 a door leads into No. 35, which is an isolated chamber with a
deep niche at the south end. Court I can be approached from court D only
by a circuitous route through passages 17 and 45. Upon the east side of
court I lie the two rooms 36 and 37, 4·40 metres wide and respectively
7·85 and 8 metres long. On the south side there is a group of rooms
preceded by an antechamber, of which nothing is standing but a return at
the east end of the wall or arcade. Three doors lead out of the
antechamber into rooms 39, 40, and 41. In the central chamber (39) there
is an arched niche at either end leaving a space 4·15 metres square
which was covered by a dome set on squinches (Plate 68, Fig. 2). To east
and west, the dome rested upon the arches of the doors leading into Nos.
40 and 41. Beyond 41 there is another room, 42, which was accessible
from 41 only. On the north side of court I are two small rooms, 43 and
44, about 4·15 metres square and much ruined. Further west is the
entrance to corridor 45. Court I is separated from court J by a wall
which is ruined to its foundations. On the south side there is a single
long chamber (47) with an antechamber; the north side is occupied by
corridor 45, which is accessible from court J by a door in the
north-west corner of the court. Corridor 45 communicates with corridor
17, a transverse arch separating the two. I call attention to the fact
that the vault builders were always careful to avoid intersection; when
two barrel vaults meet at right angles, the one is always divided from
the other by a transverse arch. This is very noticeable in corridor 17,
where the vault is standing. In the eastern arm of the corridor, opening
out of court D, the east and west vault terminates against a transverse
arch so as to allow the north and south vault of the western arm to run
straight through to the head wall at the northern end.
The western arm of corridor 17 opens into court K. The north and west
sides of this court are completely ruined and represented only by
grass-grown heaps of stones. On the south side there is a true lîwân
group (49, 50, 51) with an antechamber, the lîwân (49) opening into the
antechamber through a wide archway, the side chambers (50 and 51) by
means of doors. To the west of these chambers there is an open space
with no buildings standing upon it; even the outer wall is completely
ruined. It is here that the south gate is placed in the French plan.
Some 19 to 20 metres west of No. 50, two chambers (52 and 53) with an
antechamber are partially preserved. A mound of stones and grass runs
northward, continuing the west wall of Nos. 51 and 53. East of this
mound, at any rate at its northern end, there were ruin heaps indicating
chambers, but I was not able to discern their exact form or extent, nor
yet their relation to the hall 54. This hall is a chamber 16·15 metres
square, with walls 3·90 metres thick which carried a dome set upon
squinch arches (Plate 69, Fig. 1). No part of this dome is standing, but
it is safe to conjecture that it was built of brick.[48] The method of
constructing the squinches can be seen best at the south-west angle
(Plate 69, Fig. 2). An archway, 5·70 metres wide, breaks the centre of
each wall. The round arches were built of brick, but on the south side
only is any considerable portion of the brickwork preserved (Plate 70,
Figs. 1 and 2). The bricks are laid horizontally, not vertically, i.e.
with the narrow face outward. Above each archway there is a small
round-headed window. On the exterior the face of the walls has perished
to a considerable extent. Between the top of the archways and the bottom
of the windows the wall would seem to have been recessed back slightly
(Plate 71), and at this level the corners of the building appear to have
been sliced off, thus reducing the mass of masonry behind the squinches.
This effect may, however, be produced merely by the decay of the
masonry, for the lower part of the walls also has invariably broken away
at the angles. At the north-east and north-west corners I noticed some
brickwork embedded in the stone masonry. No. 54 stands 9 metres from the
western outer wall, of which at this point nothing but foundations
remain. At the north-west angle there are ruins of four chambers (55,
56, 57, 58) placed two deep, and to the south four chambers (59, 60, 61,
62) lie parallel to one another along the wall. No. 62 breaks off
abruptly with a high peak of masonry (Plate 72), possibly part of an
upper story. I saw no trace of any building further to the west.